Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, along with the United States and the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
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Venezuela will face unbeaten Italy on Monday, a day after the U.S. plays the Dominicans.<\/p>\n
Abreu gave Venezuela a 7-5 lead when he homered off losing pitcher Hiromi Itoh in the sixth, driving a 2-1 four-seam fastball 409 feet to right for his first home run of the tournament. Ezequiel Tovar<\/a> made it 8-5 in the eighth, leading off with a double then scoring on a throwing error by Atsuki Taneichi on a pickoff attempt.<\/p>\n Ohtani’s third home run of the tournament wasn’t enough for Japan, which had its 11-game WBC winning streak snapped.<\/p>\n Ohtani, the 2023 WBC MVP, led off the bottom of the first by lifting a 2-1 slider from Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a> 427 feet to center after Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a> homered on the second pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a>, driving a fastball 401 feet to right-center for his second home run of the WBC.<\/p>\n Enmanuel De Jesus pitched 2\u2153 scoreless innings for the win, and Daniel Palencia<\/a> got the save, getting Ohtani to pop out for the final out.<\/p>\nVenezuela’s Wilyer Abreu celebrates his three-run homer in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 8-5 win over Japan. Venezuela will face unbeaten Italy in Monday’s semifinal game.\u00a0AP Photo\/Marta Lavandier<\/p>\n